‘Phoenix from the ashes:’ YQR Distillery opens its liquor store

After years of supply chain shortages and inflationary pressure, Adam Sperling is thrilled to finally be opening the liquor store and drive-thru at the YQR Distillery.

“You could say this has been the phoenix from the ashes, like every step of the way has been a challenge,” said Sperling.

The distillery, tap room, and liquor store have been under construction in the Agribition Building at the REAL District since the summer of 2021.

Sperling said the distillery received a rooftop unit it ordered 28 months ago. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

The distillery’s liquor store had its grand opening in February, but in the original blueprints, the entire project was supposed to be completed in June of 2022.

“It’s amazing the people that we have worked with, and the hurdles that we have had to overcome,” said Sperling. “We still have many hurdles left to go, but we are really getting close. We are within arm’s reach of completion.”

Sperling thinks of the blueprints for the distillery in four phases. Phases one and two include the building of retail aspects of the business, like the distillery and warehouse. Phases three and four include hospitality developments, like the restaurant and event space.

Phases one, two and three are all about 85 per cent complete according to Sperling.

Sperling said inflationary pressure and supply chain shortages have led to long construction wait times. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

Shipment delays have been what Sperling calls “incredible.” Last month, the distillery received the rooftop unit that was ordered 28 months ago.

Financial challenges have taken their toll on the REAL District since the COVID-19 pandemic began. In 2023, REAL requested almost $6 million from city council to address its growing debt.

“As REAL has had some challenges, as we have all been made aware of in the past, that has affected some of our timelines,” said Sperling. “We are doing our best to work with them, and they are working with us, and we are moving forward.”

From the start, Sperling said construction was plagued with long wait times. Safety concerns and building codes caused a delay while the company tried to secure a building permit.

“We waited about pretty close to 10 months for the building permits,” said Sperling. “So that was the first real hurdle that we encountered, and drove up our costs with the delay.

“You know, time is money, and it was post-COVID, and things cost more.”

The YQR Distillery’s cold storage room is nearly ready for stock. (Gillian Massie/ 980 CJME)

The original budget for the project was pencilled out to be $7 million, but costs have already hit $11 million – and the renovations on the event centre and restaurant have not started yet.

Sperling is pleased with what he called the distillery’s “hall of fame” liquor store.

“What we want to have is a craft focus, focusing on Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan producers,” said Sperling. “After all, we have all the grain, we have all the wheat (and) we have all the ingredients to make the world’s best spirits and I think we do.”

So far, he says there has been great reception at the distillery.